Airflow for an Agricultural Harvesting Combine

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a complete engine cooling system for an engine carried by a grain harvesting combine having an internal combustion engine and hot exhaust components, and having a front operator cab. The system includes a generally horizontal fan assembly located atop the harvesting combine for drawing in air, a radiator associated with the engine and over which air flows for engine cooling, and charge air coolers for combustion air cooling, and air conditioning and hydraulic coolers, a centrifugal scroll that takes the drawn in air and removes entrained particles to produce a clean exhaust air and dirty exhaust air; and a filter assembly through which the pre-cleaned exhaust air flows for producing filtered air for admittance into the engine for combustion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No.62/358,629 filed Jul. 6, 2016, and is cross-referenced to commonly ownedapplication serial number , filed on even date herewith (attorneydocket: DIL 2-040) and entitled “Dual Engine Agricultural HarvestingCombine”.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to harvesting articulated (jointed)combines and more particularly to improved airflow in the forwardtractor or crop processing power unit (PPU) having dual engines with allgrain stored in a rear grain cart.

Most modern combines that utilize axially mounted threshing rotors havea single engine that is mounted transverse to the rotor (and directionof travel). Those combines typically use a bevel gear set to “turn” theengine's power to rotate the primary power consuming components—therotor(s), header, and chopper(s). This configuration comes with severalproblems.

One problem is that axial combines with transverse mounted enginesutilize an expensive, heavy, space, and energy consuming bevel gear setto “turn” the power needed for the rotor. Modern combines that packagethe engine parallel to the threshing cylinder, when the cylinder ismounted axially to the direction of travel, were developed to eliminatethe bevel gear set. However, when a single engine is used and notmounted on the centerline of the machine, it generally causes aleft-right weight imbalance, which is a second problem. This phenomenonis exasperated by the demand for higher horsepower combines that uselarger (and heavier) diesel engines. Adding to the weight imbalance isthe need for pump drive gearboxes in addition to the power takeoff.These gearboxes are typically mounted to the engine flywheel housing.They are heavy and expensive and typically contain one or more clutchesthat require hydraulic pressure and flow for actuation and lubrication.

A third problem is that crop residue that exits the combine is flammableand catches fire when it comes to rest on engine exhaust components.Combine combustion air pre-cleaning traditionally uses a collection ofmultiple “spin tubes” that separate dust from the combustion air priorto air filtration. The separated dust is generally evacuated from thepre-cleaner housing via a mechanically driven suction fan or exhaustventuri. Pre-cleaning is used to extend combustion air filter life. Cropdebris, like soybean fuzz, is difficult to separate in the pre-cleaner,as that debris is relatively long and light compared to dust from dirt.Larger spin tubes have been designed with limited success. A fourthproblem, then, is that combine filter life generally is poor due toinadequate pre-filter air cleaning.

Disclosed also is a combustion air pre-cleaner for a harvesting combinehaving a forward power processing unit (PPU) powered by an internalcombustion engine and a rear grain cart for storage of harvested grain,and which combustion air pre-cleaner includes a cooling fan assemblylocated atop the PPU for drawing air in from atop the PPU for cooling ofthe internal combustion engine; and a scroll assembly that takes aportion of the air from the cooling fan assembly and separates solidstherefrom and directs the separated air into the internal combustionengine.

Accordingly, an air handling, flow, and filtering system that addressesthese and other issues is needed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The disclosed harvesting combine forward unit carries two axiallymounted engines with each undertaking different needed functions. Thedisclosed harvesting combine cooling package is mounted between the dualengines. The cooling package includes a stationary screen, a fan, twoindependent combustion air coolers (CAC), a radiator that is common toboth engines with comingled coolant, a fuel cooler, an AC (airconditioner) condenser, and hydraulic oil cooler. A combustionpre-cleaning “scroll” is attached to the cooling package and is activelypowered by screened fan air on the inlet and turbocharger suction on theoutlet (via the air filter housing). The cleaning “scroll” separates thedirt from the air using centrifugal force and exhausts the dirt with aportion of the combustion air, resulting in cleaner air entering thefilter housing.

A large capacity fan pulls clean air from the top of the combine forwardunit and pushes it out through the rear water radiator and out onto thehot exhaust treatment system to keep all surfaces free of chaff/dust;and pushes air out through side-mounted charge air coolers and onto thehot exhaust manifolds of both engines to also keep them chaff free;pushes air out through front hydraulic cooler and forward and down intothe cleaning charge air fan (located in a round ring that is in themiddle of the hydraulic reservoir) that is forcing air downwardly andthrough plenums associated with sidesheets and bulkheads that direct thehigh pressure air downwardly until it reaches the upper rear portion ofthe cleaning fan, where it comingles with air drawn from in front of thefan. Coincident with the rear plenum bulkhead are louvers that bleed offsome of this air and direct it through the wall and rearward along theside of the rotor (concaves) to effectively pre-clean the MOG from thegrain shooting through the concaves by the rotor.

Perhaps, 5,000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of cooling air comingled withabout 5,000 to 10,000 cfm of ambient air from above the charge fan aretransported down to the cleaning fan, which likely is asking for about30,000 cfm of air. This design is want to do this because, if we allowthe cleaning fan near the ground to pull all 30,000 from in front of thefan, it will likely pull a lot of residue off the ground (inlet vorticessweeping the soil) and plug the undersides of the sieves, which is adeleterious occurrence.

The air from the cleaning fan, then, is propelled rearward and upward,being squeezed by the clean grain conveyor surface, through the main(center, full length) sieves to carry away chaff from the sieves toenhance sieve capacity.

Disclosed, then, is cooling system for an engine carried by a grainharvesting combine having an internal combustion engine and hot exhaustcomponents, and having a front operator cab. Such cooling systemincludes a generally horizontal fan assembly located atop the harvestingcombine for drawing in air; a radiator associated with the engine andthrough which air flows for engine cooling; a centrifugal scrollpre-cleaner that takes the drawn in air and removes entrained particlesto produce a clean exhaust air and a dirty exhaust; and a filterassembly through which the clean exhaust air flows for producingfiltered air for admittance into the engine for combustion.

Disclosed also is a charge fan assembly located behind the forwardoperator cab and drawing air from about the top of the PPU and directinga portion of an air flow from the charge fan assembly downwardly intothe cleaning fan assembly. The charge fan assembly also directs aportion of an air flow along the outside of the rotor and concavesassembly and another portion of an airflow down into the cleaning fanassembly. The charge fan assembly also draws away from the operator cabfor additional cooling of the forward operator cab.

These and other features will be described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentmethod and process, reference should be had to the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the articulated combine of a forwardtractor or crop processing power unit (PPU) and rear grain cart in whichthe grain is stored;

FIG. 2 is an overhead view of the articulated combine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the articulated combine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the PPU from the right rear side;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the PPU from the right front side withthe skin or outer shell removed;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view from above of the PPU from the left rearwith the skin or outer shell removed;

FIG. 7 is an overhead view of the PPU with the skin or outer shellremoved;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a right side isometric view of the PPU with the skin and leftwheel/tire assembly removed;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the chassis and frame assembly of thePPU;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the PPU cooling package, including a stationaryscreen, a fan, two independent combustion air coolers (CAC), a radiatorthat is common to both engines with comingled coolant, a fuel cooler, anAC (air conditioner) condenser, and hydraulic oil cooler;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the belt assembly for the main overheadfan, gear box and cleaning charge air fan;

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the combustion pre-cleaning “scroll”that separates the dirt from the air using centrifugal force andexhausts the dirt with a portion of the combustion air, resulting incleaner air entering the filter housing;

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of cleaning fan assembly;

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the cleaning fan assembly of FIG. 15with the rotating fan itself removed to see the guide vanes on thedivider plate; and

FIG. 17 is an isometric view of the dual engines with the screened airinlet and cooling assembly removed to better see the dual engines.

The drawings will be described in greater detail below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, an articulated harvester,10, consists of a powered PPU, 12, a rear grain cart, 14, and anarticulation joint, 16, that connects PPU 12 with rear grain cart 14.The details of articulation joint 16 are disclosed in commonly ownedapplication Ser. No. 14/946,827 filed Nov. 20, 2015. PPU 12 carries agrainhead, 18, operator's cab, 20, grain cleaning and handling assembly,and engines. PPU 12 is devoid of any grain storage, such being exclusivein rear grain cart 14. While both PPU 12 and rear grain cart 14 areshown being carried by wheel assemblies, one or both could be tracked. Ascreened air inlet, 15, is located atop PPU 12 where the air likely isthe cleanest around harvesting combine 10.

An off-loading auger assembly, 22, is in the folded home position andbeing carried by rear grain cart 14. Grain cart 14 also bears a foldableroof, 24, shown in an open position, but which can fold inwardly tocover grain stored in rear grain cart 14. Foldable roof 24 may be madeof metal, plastic, or other suitable material, but may be made ofdurable plastic for weight reduction and easy folding/unfolding. A grainstorage bin is carried by grain cart 14 may be made of plastic also inkeeping with desirable weight reduction; although, it could be made ofmetal also at the expense of weight. All plastic parts may be filledwith particulate or fiber reinforcement in conventional fashion andcould be laminate in construction. Further details on rear grain cart 14can be found commonly owned application Ser. No. 14/946,842 filed Nov.20, 2015.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operator is granted access to cab 20by a stair assembly, 26, that extends upwardly from just above theground and will be more fully disclosed in commonly owned applicationSer. No. ______, filed ______ (attorney docket DIL 2-035).

Of interest for present purposes are the various locations andassemblies for admitting air into PPU 12 for a variety of purposes.Initially, air is admitted into PPU 12 fairly centrally atop PPU 12 asindicated by arrows 31. This location was chosen, as it arguably will bethe cleanest flow of air around PPU 12. Various arrows will be used inthis description to show the general direction and location of variousmajor air flowpaths into PPU 12, within PPU 12, and exhausted from PPU12. Additional airflow admittance into PPU 12 is from the top frontthereof just behind cab 20, as indicated by arrows 33. A third majorairflow path into PPU 12 is at the front bottom thereof between the PPUwheel/assemblies, 30A and 30B, as indicated by arrows 35. Most of theair from within PPU 12 will be exhausted from the rear thereof, asindicated by arrows 61. Fourth airflow paths are inlets at each of thetwo rear outer corners of cab 20 in front of the side styling panels andbelow the styling front hood.

The skin or shell has been removed in FIGS. 5-7 to reveal componentshoused within PPU 12. Airflow 31 enters atop PPU 12 through a grate, 41.This location was chosen, as it arguably will be the cleanest flow ofair around PPU 12. Radiators, as typified by a radiator, 34 (FIG. 9),surround or cooling fan assembly 32 (FIG. 11) and are coolinglyconnected with a pair of engines, 36 and 38 (FIGS. 5 and 6,respectively) located on either side of main cooling fan assembly 32. Asingle air conditioning condenser, 43, sits adjacent to radiator 34 forcooling cab 20. Engine 38 powers the hydraulics and coolingfunctions/airflow movement for articulated combine 10, while engine 36powers all other components of articulated combine 10. Exhaust aftertreatment assembly, 40, cleans air for emission control. When firing upthe engines, which typically will be diesel engines (optionallysupercharged), engine 38, which is clutched as startup, is started firstso that coolant flowing through engine 38 will warm up engine 36 and thehydraulic fluid for articulated combine 10. The twin engines aspect willbe described in detail in commonly owned application Ser. No. ______,filed on even date herewith (attorney docket DIL 2-040).

Further on the dual engines for combine 10 is illustrated in FIG. 17,which has the cooling system removed. Initially, it will be observedthat engine 38 faces forward, while engine 36 faces rearward. Sucharrangement ensures that hot exhaust header and turbocharger faceinwardly for both engines and adjacent the incoming top airflow andcentrally located cooling assembly. Engine 38 is seen driving a varietyof shafts, pulleys, and belts, which are attached to and drive hydraulicpumps, such as, for example, hydraulic pump, that drive thehydraulically driven systems of combine 10, as described herein and inthe related applications cited herein. On occasion, the load on engine38 will reach the capacity of engine 38, while the load on engine 36 isbelow its capacity, such as, for example, during unloading of grain fromgrain cart 14. Accordingly, a hydraulic line, 37, typically a 1″ line,runs from a pair of hydraulic pumps, 47, and driven by engine 38, to apair of hydraulic pump, 49, driven by engine 36. Hydraulic pumps 49 willadd to the capacity of the hydraulics driven by engine 38 during timesthat such extra capacity is needed.

Large capacity (cooling) fan assembly 32 (FIG. 11) that pulls clean air31 from the top of PPU 12, pushes the air out through a rear waterradiator 34 (FIG. 9), and out onto a hot exhaust treatment system, 40(FIG. 5) to keep all surfaces free of chaff/dust and for coolingpurposes; and pushes air out through side-mounted charge air coolers, 42and 44 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, respectively) and onto the hot exhaustmanifolds, 45 and 46 (FIGS. 7, respectively) of both engines to alsokeep them chaff free; pushes air out through front hydraulic cooler, 48(FIG. 8) and forward and down into the cleaning charge air fan, 50(located in a round ring that is in the middle of the hydraulicreservoir, 51, FIG. 9) that is forcing air downwardly and throughplenums associated with sidesheets surrounding the concaves (not shown)and a forward bulkhead, 52 (FIGS. 9 and 10) that direct the highpressure air downwardly until it reaches the upper rear portion of acleaning fan assembly, 54 (FIGS. 8 and 9), where it comingles with air35 drawn from in front of fan assembly 54. Coincident with a rear plenumbulkhead, 56 (FIGS. 8 and 9), are forward bulkhead 52 louvers (FIGS. 9and 10) that bleed off some of this air, 58 (arrows in FIGS. 9 and 10),and direct it through the wall and rearward along the side of the rotor(concaves) to effectively pre-clean the MOG from the grain shootingthrough the concaves by the rotor. Fan blades of fan assembly 32 can berotated, reversing the air flow, cleaning the radiation 34, condenser43, coolers 42 and 44, and oil cooler 48, of debris.

Perhaps, about 5,000 to 10,000 cfm of cooling air comingled with about5,000 to 10,000 cfm of ambient air from above charge fan 50 aretransported down to cleaning fan assembly 54, which likely is asking forabout 30,000 cfm of air. This design is want to do this because, if weallow cleaning fan assembly 54 near the ground to pull all 30,000 fromin front of fan assembly 54, it will likely pull a lot of residue offthe ground (inlet vortices sweeping the soil) and plug the undersides ofthe sieves, which is a deleterious occurrence.

The air from cleaning fan assembly 54, then, is propelled rearward andupward (see arrows 60 in FIGS. 8 and 10), being squeezed by the cleangrain conveyor surface, through the main (center, full length) sieves tocarry away chaff from the sieves to enhance sieve capacity. This airwill track mostly straight rearward and will not comingle with the bonussieve air.

Cleaning fan assembly 54 also is shown in further detail in FIGS. 15 and16. In particular, elongate “squirrel cage” fan, 55, is carried by acleaning fan housing, 57. An air guide vane, 59, is located rewardlythereof and has a pair of spaced apart, angled guide vanes, 63A and 63B,on its top surface and a pair of angled, spaced apart guide vanes, 71Aand 71B. Elongate fan 55 tends to exhaust most of its air in its centralportion with a low amount of air at its ends. The deflector platesdirect an amount of air to the ends of clean fan assembly 54 to even outthe air flow along its widthwise extent. Deflector plate 59 isadjustable, as air the deflector plates.

FIG. 10 shows the chassis and frame assembly of PPU 12 along withvarious of the airflows described above. Also, note that an airdeflector shield, 62, is located above exhaust air flow 61 at the rearof PPU 12 so that such dirty air does not rise above PPU 12 forre-admission thereinto. A description of the concaves and grates, andthe chassis can be found in commonly-owned application Ser. No.14/967,691, filed Dec. 14, 2015.

Main fan assembly 32 is shown also in FIGS. 11 and 12, along withcleaning charge air fan 50. A cleaning “scroll” chamber, 64, separatesdirt from air 65. Air 65 from fan assembly 32 enters scroll chamber 64using centrifugal force and exhausts the dirt with a portion of thecombustion air, resulting in cleaner air entering filter housings, 66and 68, from which filtered air is sent to the turbochargers for theengines.

FIG. 13 shows a pulley system, 70, running around an idler, 72, agearbox, 74, charge fan 50, and main fan assembly 32. FIG. 14 showsscroll chamber 64 and filter box 66 from which a filtered airflow, 76,flows to a turbocharger. It should be understood that louvers 69 inscroll chamber 64 let dirty airflow, 67, exit scroll chamber 64 and downinto charge fan 50 for flow into forward bulkhead 52. Airflow fromforward bulkhead 52, as described above, is for scavenging additionalMOG and dirt from various surfaces as such scouring airflow runs towardsthe rear of PPU 12 for exhausting as indicated by airflow arrows 61 andfor flowing down to cleaning fan assembly 54 again for scouring surfacesand carrying entrained particles (MOG and dirt) towards exhaust airflow61. Such air cleaning system scheme feeds mainly clean, filtered airthrough the turbochargers and into the engines. Less clean and dirtyair, then, is used for surface scouring and exhaustion of entrainedparticles.

While the device and method have been described with reference tovarious embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope and essence of thedisclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosurewithout departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it isintended that the disclosure not be limited to the particularembodiments disclosed, but that the disclosure will include allembodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. In thisapplication all units are in the metric system and all amounts andpercentages are by weight, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Also,all citations referred herein are expressly incorporated herein byreference.

We claim:
 1. A cooling system for an engine carried by a grainharvesting combine having an internal combustion engine and hot exhaustcomponents, and having a front operator cab, which comprises: (a) agenerally horizontal fan assembly located atop the harvesting combinefor drawing in air; (b) a radiator associated with the engine andthrough which air flows for engine cooling; (c) a centrifugal scrollpre-cleaner that takes the drawn in air and removes entrained particlesto produce a clean exhaust air and a dirty exhaust; and (d) a filterassembly through which the clean exhaust air flows for producingfiltered air for admittance into the engine for combustion.
 2. Thecooling system of claim 1, additionally comprising: (e) a cleaningcharge air fan located adjacent to a hydraulic fluid reservoir andaccepting the dirty exhaust air for distribution into the grainharvesting combine, the hydraulic fluid reservoir being cooled thereby.3. The cooling system of claim 1, additionally comprising: (f) a pair ofdual axially mounted engines with oppositely opposed crankshafts,wherein one engine powers hydraulics and the second engine powersmechanical grain harvesting combine components; wherein the enginesshare the radiator, and there is a separate air filter assembly for eachengine.
 4. The cooling system of claim 3, wherein engine coolant iscomingled for both engines and there is a single fuel cooler, airconditioning condenser, and hydraulic oil cooler for the engines.
 5. Thecooling system of claim 1, wherein the grain harvesting combinecomprises an articulated grain harvesting combine of a forward cropprocessing power unit (PPU), a rear grain cart, and an articulationjoint that connects the PPU with the rear grain cart.
 6. The coolingsystem of claim 2, additionally comprising: (f) an air inlet locatedbehind the operator cab in front of the generally horizontal fanassembly on an angled surface for feeding air to the cleaning charge airfan.
 7. A combustion air pre-cleaner for a harvesting combine having aforward power processing unit (PPU) powered by an internal combustionengine and a rear grain cart for storage of harvested grain, and whichcombustion air pre-cleaner comprises: (a) a cooling fan assembly locatedatop the PPU for drawing air in from atop the PPU for cooling of theinternal combustion engine; (b) a scroll assembly that takes a portionof the air from the cooling fan assembly and separates solids therefromand directs the separated air into the internal combustion engine.
 8. Aharvesting combine having a forward power processing unit (PPU) poweredby an internal combustion engine, a rear grain cart for storage ofharvested grain, a forward operator cab, a cleaning fan assembly locatedabout the forward bottom of the PPU, and rotor and concaves assembly forthreshing grain, the improvement which comprises: a charge fan assemblylocated behind the forward operator cab and drawing air from about thetop of the PPU and directing a portion of an air flow from the chargefan assembly downwardly into the cleaning fan assembly.
 9. The improvedharvesting combine of claim 8, wherein about one-third of the air supplyrequirements for the cleaning fan assembly is supplied by the chargefan.
 10. A harvesting combine having a forward power processing unit(PPU) powered by an internal combustion engine, a rear grain cart forstorage of harvested grain, a forward operator cab, a cleaning fanassembly located about the forward bottom of the PPU, and rotor andconcaves assembly for threshing grain, the improvement which comprises:a charge fan assembly located behind the forward operator cab anddrawing air from about the top of the PPU and directing a portion of anair flow from the charge fan assembly along the outside of the rotor andconcaves assembly and another portion of an airflow down into thecleaning fan assembly.
 11. The improved harvesting combine of claim 10,wherein between about ⅓ and ⅔ of the cleaning fan assembly airrequirements are supplied by the charge fan assembly.
 12. A harvestingcombine having a forward power processing unit (PPU) powered by aninternal combustion engine, a rear grain cart for storage of harvestedgrain, a forward operator cab, a cleaning fan assembly located about theforward bottom of the PPU, and rotor and concaves assembly for threshinggrain, the improvement which comprises: a charge fan assembly locatedbehind the forward operator cab and drawing air from about the top ofthe PPU and away from the operator cab for additional cooling of theforward operator cab.